The field of the invention is engine driven implements, and more particularly, the braking of such implements as mower blades when the engine is shut down.
Farm, lawn and garden implements, such as mowers, power sweepers, aerators or the like are normally driven directly from the power take-off of a gasoline engine or indirectly through a clutch. It has become increasingly common on larger equipment to use an electrically controlled clutch which also includes a brake mechanism. When the clutch is operated to disengage the operating tool, such as a mower blade, from the engine, the brake mechanism engages to decelerate the operating tool and bring it to a stop quickly. Such clutch and brake mechanisms are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,773,156; 4,181,206; 4,585,115; and 4,570,766.
On smaller implements such as lawn mowers the use of separate clutch and brake mechanisms have also been proposed as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,800, but in general such structures are considered too costly. In most cases, therefore, the engine simply coasts to a stop when the ignition circuit is interrupted as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,236,494 and 4,885,903.